RussR
En-Route
It's that time of year when I start getting a lot of calls from clients about getting night current.
In a light single or multi-engine piston, it's generally no big deal to fire it up and get in a few landings at night. But it got me wondering how is this generally done in larger aircraft. The airline pilots probably get enough night operations to stay current anyway, and they have a whole system of recurrent training and simulators to help if needed.
But what about the corporate guys? The contract jet pilot guys? 61.57b requires the 3 takeoffs and landings to be in category, class and type for type-rating-required airplanes. Maybe the owner/boss only flies a few times a month. Some landings may be at night, especially in the winter, but most takeoffs are probably in the day, especially in October/November.
And if you're type-rated (and actively flying) on two different types, you need to be night current in both.
Do the pilots take the plane up empty for a few laps around the pattern some night? Flock down to FlightSafety or CAE for an hour in the simulator? Is it different for a salaried pilot versus a contract pilot? How does this work?
In a light single or multi-engine piston, it's generally no big deal to fire it up and get in a few landings at night. But it got me wondering how is this generally done in larger aircraft. The airline pilots probably get enough night operations to stay current anyway, and they have a whole system of recurrent training and simulators to help if needed.
But what about the corporate guys? The contract jet pilot guys? 61.57b requires the 3 takeoffs and landings to be in category, class and type for type-rating-required airplanes. Maybe the owner/boss only flies a few times a month. Some landings may be at night, especially in the winter, but most takeoffs are probably in the day, especially in October/November.
And if you're type-rated (and actively flying) on two different types, you need to be night current in both.
Do the pilots take the plane up empty for a few laps around the pattern some night? Flock down to FlightSafety or CAE for an hour in the simulator? Is it different for a salaried pilot versus a contract pilot? How does this work?